On September 30, 2019, on the memorial of St. Jerome, Pope Francis announced that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time would be celebrated as the Sunday of the Word of God in his Apostolic Letter, “Aperuit illis: Instituting the Sunday of the Word of God.”
In the Introduction to the Lectionary for Mass, we are reminded of the role of the Word of God in the life of the Church: In the hearing of God's word the Church is built up and grows, and in the signs of the liturgical celebration God's wonderful, past works in the history of salvation are presented anew as mysterious realities. God in turn makes use of the congregation of the faithful that celebrates the Liturgy in order that his word may speed on and be glorified and that his name be exalted among the nations.
Whenever, therefore, the Church, gathered by the Holy Spirit for liturgical celebration, announces and proclaims the word of God, she is aware of being a new people in whom the covenant made in the past is perfected and fulfilled. Baptism and confirmation in the Spirit have made all Christ's faithful into messengers of God's word because of the grace of hearing they have received. They must therefore be the bearers of the same word in the Church and in the world, at least by the witness of their lives.
The word of God proclaimed in the celebration of God's mysteries does not only address present conditions but looks back to past events and forward to what is yet to come. Thus, God's word shows us what we should hope for with such a longing that in this changing world our hearts will be set on the place where our true joys lie (Preamble, 7).
As
the Church celebrates the 3rd Sunday of the Word of God, Pope Francis launched
an appeal to all the faithful to keep the Sacred Scriptures close at all times
and to read them frequently. “One of the
greatest gifts of our time is the rediscovery of Sacred Scripture in the life
of the Church and the faithful,” he said at the Sunday Angelus address.
Let us always seek to keep the Word of God alive in our hearts and minds. Bernadette Farrell in her song, Word of God, invites us to reflect on God’s Word alive in our world.
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